Can i ride with Magic Cushion in place?

[mastermax]

Hi I a looking to use magic cushion for the first time. Horse has navicular syndrome dx through x ray and mri last November. Heartbar shoes, no meds just biotin, mag ox, no bute premium and super fenn. Whilst hacking last week he got a stone stuck in the heartbar, I removed it immediatey and walked him home but resuted in a bruised sole. Farrier has since put new shoes on and said to use magic cushion.
He is sound in walk, 1/10 off in trot and 3/10 off in tight circle.
Question is if i use magic cushion so he can gently walk out can I do this? or will it jst fall out? any help would be great. Thankk you.

 

[ihatework]

You would need a pad over it.
I would question any horse showing 3/10 lameness being ridden though

 

[mastermax]

Thank you IHW, to be honest I questioed it too but both vet and farrier have said to take him literally down the road and back to keep him moving. My husband is very "old School" and said no, lame is lame. They think the magic cushion would alleviate any discomfort from further bruising.
ETA: He is 100% sound whilst walking. the 3/10 would be if you were to turn him on his forehand without turning in a circle, which is what the vet did to see what he was doing.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Many people would remove the shoes, feed minerals and adjust diet and exercise
http://www.rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/

 

[mastermax]

Thanks Bonkers2 I have looked and read an awful lot regarding this route but at present he finds it very uncomfortable without shoes. He has been 100% sound for 10 weeks but unfortunately the stone has set things off again. He is improving everyday and still manages a canter around is field and its only on the last couple of steps as he comes back to trot he is still not quite right.

 

[Jazmyn101]

There is a video showing how to apply if whether your horse is barefoot or shod, I will post it.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=avY7HGFL6G8

 

[FfionWinnie]

I too would strongly consider taking the shoes off and doing the rehab.

 

[ycbm]

Thanks Bonkers2 I have looked and read an awful lot regarding this route but at present he finds it very uncomfortable without shoes. He has been 100% sound for 10 weeks but unfortunately the stone has set things off again. He is improving everyday and still manages a canter around is field and its only on the last couple of steps as he comes back to trot he is still not quite right.

It sounds like he's only ever been sound on straight lines, though, and that isn't really sound, sorry

The reason he is so uncomfortable out of shoes is because his feet are weak. It's very likely that the weakness caused him to strain whatever ligaments our tendons he has strained. The chances of him coming good in shoes and returning to a full workload where you don't have to limit work on hard our poor surfaces is pretty low, and the chances of him being too lame to work at all at some point in the future are, I'm sorry to say, pretty high.

But all is not lost !

There is a lot you can do now to strengthen his feet with a high fibre low sugar diet and a mineral balance with no iron and high copper. Other people can tell you which ones they recommend, but personally I would always feed yeast as well. Then, should the shoeing route not work, he will be in a much better position to work without shoes on, and it will also increase the chances that the shoeing route will work.

Plenty of people on here will give you diet advice if you ask

 

[applecart14]

Why don't you try Equipak? Or a rubber pad held in place between shoe and wall of foot? These would last longer than Magic Cushion. Equipak sets in seconds and can be used with or without a pad. It can provide support and protection for thin soled, flat footed horses, absorbing shock. THe maker claims that it doesn't break down with debris or moisture although I must admit I used it with mixed sucess on my horse years ago when I found that it did just this after a couple of weeks.

 

[mastermax]

Why don't you try Equipak? Or a rubber pad held in place between shoe and wall of foot? These would last longer than Magic Cushion. Equipak sets in seconds and can be used with or without a pad. It can provide support and protection for thin soled, flat footed horses, absorbing shock. THe maker claims that it doesn't break down with debris or moisture although I must admit I used it with mixed sucess on my horse years ago when I found that it did just this after a couple of weeks.

Thank you Applecart14 I only last night looked at equipak and thought it was good stuff. I know that if he had some cushioning he would be fine. Does the farrier have to put it in or is this something I can do myself and would you now the best place to get this product. Many thanks

 

[Britestar]

Farrier needs to apply equipak but it is amazing stuff. One of mine had had it for best part of a year and had no problems with it at all.

 

[mastermax]

Farrier needs to apply equipak but it is amazing stuff. One of mine had had it for best part of a year and had no problems with it at all.

Thank you Britestar, will text the farrier now and ask for him to get some for the next set. Now we have had some rain he has galloped, bucked, farted and reared around the field with all the finesse of Valegro but will suffer once it all drys out again.

 

[applecart14]

Thank you Britestar, will text the farrier now and ask for him to get some for the next set. Now we have had some rain he has galloped, bucked, farted and reared around the field with all the finesse of Valegro but will suffer once it all drys out again.

My farrier used to put a piece of polystyrene under the horses foot and tape it on. Then he would apply the stuff to the back of the heel area and when it had hardened peel the polystyrene off.

 

[Northern Hare]

Hi if you are going down the hoof pad route, I would recommend Stromsholm pads (3mm soft) at about £5/pair and the "horse silicone" also from the Stromsholm site which is about £7 for a huge tube.

I find the pads last 2 or 3 shoeings each pair and the tube of silicone about 2 or poss 3 pairs of front feet. You just need to apply duct tape across the gap in the pad at the back of the frog whilst the silicone cures.

I found the Vettec products good but were so expensive (one tube did just about a pair of fronts) and they often fell out mid shoring cycle.

Another alternative to the Vettec products are made by Bondtech and they are quite a bit cheaper than the Vettec.

My horse is much better with the pads and silicone. So much so that my vet recommends it to other owners. He has very thin soles and not good foot combination.

I did attempt to try him barefoot several years ago but he was crippled as the farm he was living on had very stoney tracks, gateways and fields so I had to have shoes put back on him. He's 25 years old now so I am just happy that the pads and silicone work so well for him.

 

[Leo Walker]

It sounds like he's only ever been sound on straight lines, though, and that isn't really sound, sorry

The reason he is so uncomfortable out of shoes is because his feet are weak. It's very likely that the weakness caused him to strain whatever ligaments our tendons he has strained. The chances of him coming good in shoes and returning to a full workload where you don't have to limit work on hard our poor surfaces is pretty low, and the chances of him being too lame to work at all at some point in the future are, I'm sorry to say, pretty high.

But all is not lost !

There is a lot you can do now to strengthen his feet with a high fibre low sugar diet and a mineral balance with no iron and high copper. Other people can tell you which ones they recommend, but personally I would always feed yeast as well. Then, should the shoeing route not work, he will be in a much better position to work without shoes on, and it will also increase the chances that the shoeing route will work.

Plenty of people on here will give you diet advice if you ask

this, literally word for word

 

[AandK]

Out of curiosity, what does the yeast do? I feed my horse minerals, but not heard of yeast (brewers?) being good for feet too.

Thanks :smile3:

 

[ycbm]

Out of curiosity, what does the yeast do? I feed my horse minerals, but not heard of yeast (brewers?) being good for feet too.

Thanks :smile3:

There was a discussion of this some time ago and a qualified expert came on and explained that year suppresses inflammation that is already in the gut and stops inflammation developing, two separate actions. This has apparently been proven on proper trials. Gut inflammation damages feet by causing low grade laminitis.

It's also a source of b vitamins, I think, which are good for feet.

I ran out one summer and one of my horses went footie and the other didn't, so not all of them need it but I feed it to all as a precaution. Bought in a 25 kilo sack, fed at 50g a day, it's cheap.